Pao Salcedo

Game Curator

Pao standing over a skillet full of bistek tagalog

Favorite Coolmath Games: Powercut, 8 Ball Pool
 

Pao is an advertising copywriter turned game producer. A graduate of the NYU Game Center's Game Design MFA program, he has over 9 years of experience playing, testing, and curating games in an academic or professional setting.

As a Senior Game Producer at Coolmath Games, Pao has created comprehensive game design documents for experienced external developers and translated them into launched games, such as Rock Paper Scissors, Pirate Battle: Ships Ahoy, and Tag.

He has licensed over 100 games and counting for CoolmathGames.com (including Tiny Fishing, Slice Master, and Duck Duck Clicker) and the Coolmath Games mobile app.

Before Coolmath Games, Pao worked at Computer Lunch, developers of the hit mobile games Cell to Singularity and Mama Hawk. He researched historical tidbits for Cell to Singularity and wrote write-ups for limited-time events. He also wrote in-game text and copy for Mama Hawk, and store descriptions for the App Store and Play Store.

Prior to that he was briefly a playtester for one of the most successful tabletop RPG Kickstarters ever.

In a previous life, he was a creative copywriter in multinational ad agencies in the Philippines.

Outside the hallowed, equation-filled halls of Coolmath Games, he is playing old JRPGs, trying to catch up to the latest One Piece volume, and experimenting with his lola's adobong manok recipe. 

 

WORK EXPERIENCE

  • COOLMATH GAMES | Senior Game Producer
    2019 – Present
  • COMPUTER LUNCH | Game Researcher
    Apr – Jun 2019, Sep 2022
  • KICKSTARTER RPG | Game Tester
    Apr 2019
  • COMPUTER LUNCH | Game Design and Copywriting
    Jun – Aug 2017
  • LEO BURNETT GROUP MANILA | Creative Team Head
    May 2014-May 2016
  • TBWA\SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO | Copywriter
    June 2010 – April 2014

 

EDUCATION

  • NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, USA, MFA Game Design
  • ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY, PHILIPPINES, BS Business Management
  • ÉCOLE SUPÉRIEURE DE COMMERCE, PAU, FRANCE, Int’l Management Program

 

CONFERENCES ATTENDED

  • Game Developers Conference 2023
  • Indiecade 2017, 2018
  • PlayNYC 2018, 2021
  • Waffle Games 2018

Games Reviewed By Pao Salcedo

mini stilts hopping through the map

Mini Stilts

March 8, 2022

That green candy is just out of reach... Good thing you brought your stilts! Get up into the air, dodge spikes and enemies and grab your prize.

rotating the squares in connected

Connected

February 28, 2022

Each tile has loose ends, and you need to bring them together! Move, rotate, and slide tiles to connect them all.

sliding through the map in wup

Wup

February 17, 2022

You lost all your moves! Start by moving in only one direction to make it through this tricky maze. Can you beat the hazards and get your abilities back?

brainy warrior protecting the island

Brainy Warrior

February 15, 2022

These angry monsters have taken over the island! Defeat them all and don't fall into the water. Can you protect all the islands?

solving puzzle in love

Love

February 13, 2022

In this game, love can be found anywhere and everywhere. Solve all the tricky puzzles to find as much love as you possibly can!

kitsu level 1 gameplay

Kitsu

February 11, 2022

Blend into your surroundings to collect the hearts! You're a clever fox who can disintegrate obstacles with the power of matching.

small golf putting the ball in the hole

Small Golf

February 10, 2022

Ever wondered if mini-golf could get smaller? Putt your ball into the hole and avoid the dangerous foes shooting at you!

jumping off a platform in time witch

Time Witch

February 8, 2022

Use your time-distorting powers to save your friends who are trapped in ice! Grab the colorful gems and set everyone free.

Flags Maniac

January 31, 2022

How well do you know the various country flags? Think fast and brush up on those geography skills to get a new high score!

linquest running through the map

LinQuest

January 25, 2022

You're on a quest to escape the forest! Run and jump your way through 27 levels. Dodge spikes and avoid the angry mushroom enemies.